Author's Note---Thank you for the reviews, here's the next one. A bit of a filler, a little bit of action near the end.  Enjoy, and please review.

Kat sat on the couch, her mind replaying the events of the day over and over in her head. Most importantly, the shocking events of three hours ago.

She'd debated about what to do. She could call the cops and her dad and run screaming down the street, but she felt cautious. After all, if Luke really was watching her, there was a good chance that he'd kill her when she went for help. Kat locked the doors and windows, searched the house three times, and made sure that the alarms were all set. Other than that, there was nothing she could do.

Kat had no idea how the note had made its way inside. Obviously, Luke had obviously brought it in, but that didn't explain why the alarms didn't go off. Jackson had a certain sense of paranoiac insecurity that caused him to install only the best of precautions. They would not be faulty.

Luke had worked with her father, though. He must know some secrets about this sort of thing. Jackson didn't confide in Kat and Lisa much, but she knew enough to know that in his line of work, a rigorous training system was necessary.

Kat heard the doorknob twist and her stomach mimicked it.

"Hello?" she called out cautiously. There was no answer. A footstep. A thud. Another footstep. "Who's there?"

Feeling her breath stop entirely, she grabbed a vase from the shelving and quietly made her way to the foyer, her weapon poised to strike.

With a yell, she began to slam down the vase, but a familiar voice stopped her.

"Kat!" Lisa dropped Jacqueline's baby bag and the eighteen-month girl gurgled happily at her sister from her mother's hip. "What in the world are you doing?"

Kat sighed and replaced it on a different shelf, breaking a sweat as her heartrate returned to normal. "You scared me, Mom. Jeez. I thought…" she trailed off, biting her lip. Nice going. Don't tell her! It'll only make her panic and tell Jack—Dad. Which will be bad. Because he'll go insane. Good job, Kat. You're supposed to be The Smart Yale Girl.

"You thought what?" Lisa shot her daughter a severe look and walked distractedly past Kat, setting Jacqueline in her bouncer. "Don't go keeping secrets again. You know I hate that."

Kat nodded and looked away, hastily grabbing a cup from the kitchen cupboards to busy herself. She poured a glass of milk and was chugging it down when she saw her mother's expression.

Lisa was staring angrily at her, hand on hip, her hair falling idly in front of her eyes.

"Katherine."

"Lisa." Kat laughed at their private joke, but her mom would have none of it today.

"I think you need to tell me right now what exactly made you jump me at the door."

"Nothing, Mom," Kat lied with an exasperated sigh. Time to revive her teenage tendencies again. "I just was feeling a bit nervous, that's all. Hearing things. You know."

It was obvious that Lisa didn't buy it. "Is that the best you can do? Try again."

Kat sighed and looked at the floor, muttering, "Maybe you should put Jackie in her room. I don't want her to hear this."

Lisa furrowed her brow but nodded and went upstairs with the baby.

Kat poured a glass of milk for mother as well and sat down at the table to wait when the phone rang. She nearly fell out of her chair, but reached for it warily.

Please be Dad. Or somebody for Mom. Or someone from school. Anybody but who I'm scared it might be. "Hello?"

"Don't worry, Katie, you can tell your mother. There's not much she can do about it, anyway."

"Leave us alone, you asshole," Kat whispered furiously into the phone, gritting her teeth. "What the hell do you want?"
"I want to finish what I had started with you two four years ago. I want you, and I want your mother. And you can tell her that. Hell, Kat, I don't care if you tell that bastard father of yours. Because there is absolutely nothing that you can do."

"I'll call the police, you won't get away with this, you-"

"Call the police, Katie, and I can assure you that you'll live to regret it. The house is wired."

Her stomach fell but she fought to remain a shred of indignance. "We'll get out of here! Do you really think that we're that stupid-"

"Do what you want, but the moment that door opens, you die. I'll make sure of it."

"How does that work into your psychotic plan to get me and mom back? Kill us and then kill yourself? Makes sense," Kat shot scathingly at him.

"You'll see, my dear little Katherine, all in good time. But for now, I suggest you don't leave the house."
Kat was shaking in uncontrollable tremors that wracked her entire body. "My dad will stop you. He'll find the wires and disengage-"

"Katherine, your father doesn't know shit compared to me. One tamper with that wire and he'll be blown halfway to kingdom come."

"Kat?" She spun around to see Lisa looking at her from the doorway.

"Who are you talking to?" she mouthed.

"It's-" she was met with an empty line, telling her that Luke had disconnected. Kat did the same and Lisa walked over to her.

"You okay, honey?"

Kat didn't answer, but dropped the phone to the counter. It rattled all the way down the island and landed in the sink. Lisa ignored it and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Now, tell me what's going on. The last time I saw that look, it wasn't even on your face. It was on mine, and I was 25,00 feet in the air in a bathroom."

Kat burst into tears, leaning into her mother's blazer, and her mother held her head, guiding her gently to sit on the couch.

When the sudden thundercloud of emotion had passed, Kat wiped her eyes with the tissue Lisa provided and cleared her throat. "He's back."

"Who?"

Kat shuddered, feeling slightly repulsed. "Him. Luke."

Lisa froze, her hands falling limply at her sides. "Luke?" she whispered, her voice now a deadened whine. "What—what did he want?"

"This is really clichéd, Mom, but trust me…you don't want to know."

Lisa stood up and began walking to the counter. "What are you doing?"

"Calling the cops. He needs to leave you the hell alone."

"No!" Kat tore the receiver from her mother's hand and cradled it in her hand. "You can't call them! You can't call anybody!"

"Why not?"

"Because, Mom," Kat searched her mother's eyes, the ones that had seemed so lively and happy less than five minutes ago now looked dead with fear. "If we call anybody, we're dead. All of us."